my friend went for a blood pressure check at a kiosk (pathlab had a booth) in the mall over the weekend.

her reading was a high 161/100. too high in my opinion for a 30+ year old person.

what i know from her lifestyle is she exercises, eat a balance diet, dont smoke/drink, moderate stress.

so its baffling what caused the hypertension.

any mixture of juicing can help with hypertension? i advised her to take Omega3 and its known to help with hypertension.

will definitely ask her to take medication to bring down the pressure first.

Jokee

21-12-2008, 12:17 PM

try meditation or yoga. A simple breathing exercise a day keeps the stress in control. Not to mention cheap and no drugs involved.

pucman

21-12-2008, 03:01 PM

Hypertension caused by too much red meat.

Become vegetarian.

tbearer

21-12-2008, 07:12 PM

my friend here doesnt eat red meat.

mainly fish and chicken.

yes, will get her to try meditation.

bslee

21-12-2008, 07:20 PM

Hmmm... I don't trust those booths. (more especially if they using those electronic digital whatever whatever). Likely a wrong reading.
Get a 2nd or 3rd reading from a proper DOCTOR lah using those old school BP gauge and the doctor monitoring the pulse with a stethoscope.

MasterQ

22-12-2008, 12:47 AM

I read that the government has disallowed companies related to healthcare to conduct health screening at public places like shopping complexes. They are doing this with vested interest. Morever those people manning those booths are not even medical officers and the so call electronic equipment which I don't even seen them used in the medical profession. With your palm placed on that gadget for just 2 minutes, the machine can tell you 10 things wrong about you except erectile dyfunctional as the machine cannot distinguish between a male from female. So don't place too much hope on it. I won't be surprised that same machine can be used by CASSA in their national service project to detect CASSA-NOVAS

tmd

22-12-2008, 12:58 AM

Reduce sodium intake to 2.4gm a day ( 6 gm of salt about one teaspoon).

kuma

22-12-2008, 01:17 AM

Hmmm... I don't trust those booths. (more especially if they using those electronic digital whatever whatever). Likely a wrong reading.
Get a 2nd or 3rd reading from a proper DOCTOR lah using those old school BP gauge and the doctor monitoring the pulse with a stethoscope.

Have to agree here. Just take your friend to see a doctor and check the reading again. Then take it from there.

pucman

22-12-2008, 01:30 AM

my friend here doesnt eat red meat.

mainly fish and chicken.

yes, will get her to try meditation.

If the condition of high blood pressure is due to atherioclerosis which blocks the blood vessels due to eating of meat, meditation won't help.

Reduce amount of meat taken, increase vege and fruits.

Meditation can only help relieve temporary stress.

I eat mainly vege and my blood pressure is 130/90 max. I hardly exercise and I am about same age as your friend.

tsd

22-12-2008, 01:37 AM

Try to drink Jiaogulan Tea, it is available in most of the Chinese medical hall.

lbn

22-12-2008, 05:06 AM

161/100 is definitely high for a 30+. If left untreated will affect the kidneys and the heart. That's what happened to my cousin. He's now on dialysis and has an enlarged heart. Best don't play play. :)

blurrman

22-12-2008, 01:25 PM

tbearer,

u mentioned that your friend done the reading at the kiosk, so i believe she might have done some shopping and walking before taking the reading.

a blood pressure reading should be taken at rest, and it should be at least 20min proper sitting rest.

pls redo at a proper clinic and better get 2nd / 3rd opinion before taking medication. once u are at medication it is really hard to turn back.

the key to hypertension is sodium and potassium. sodium will increase the pressure and potassium will decrease.

there are many successful cases following the diet of the US national heast institue's diet called DASH please see here http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf

CS Chua

22-12-2008, 02:18 PM

hi,

my friend went for a blood pressure check at a kiosk (pathlab had a booth) in the mall over the weekend.

her reading was a high 161/100. too high in my opinion for a 30+ year old person.

what i know from her lifestyle is she exercises, eat a balance diet, dont smoke/drink, moderate stress.

so its baffling what caused the hypertension.

any mixture of juicing can help with hypertension? i advised her to take Omega3 and its known to help with hypertension.

will definitely ask her to take medication to bring down the pressure first.
Even though the causes of hypertension may not be known in the majority of people, there is a small percentage where the cause can be discovered through a thorough examination. Your friend must go for a full medical check up to eliminate all possible causes. The doctor will check all the vital organs to be sure that they are not the cause of the problem.

I remember talking to someone who has hypertension and he discovered the cause after 3 years. It was potassium leakage from the kidney and after the doctor plugged the leak, his blood pressure went back to normal. So, go and see a cardiologist first. They will usually advise dieting and weight management as the first choice. The medication will follow if these measures do not help.

coleslaw

22-12-2008, 02:34 PM

If the condition of high blood pressure is due to atherioclerosis which blocks the blood vessels due to eating of meat, meditation won't help.

Reduce amount of meat taken, increase vege and fruits.

Meditation can only help relieve temporary stress.

I eat mainly vege and my blood pressure is 130/90 max. I hardly exercise and I am about same age as your friend.
i eat everything, drinks and smokes. don't exercise, way,way older than you...bp is 110/70..and max is 120/80.

fRaNkY

22-12-2008, 03:46 PM

Some says double boil muk yee and drink water.

Some says boil and drink pandan leaves water.

tbearer

22-12-2008, 04:59 PM

just an update.

friend went to see cardiologist today. all vital organs are fine.

taking medication, to bring the pressure down. reading at booth at the mall over the weekend was correct.

so, the cause of her hypertension is still unknown as her lifestyle is good. dr was also loss at to how to bring the pressure down since what needs to be done has already been done.

anitamoh

22-12-2008, 06:43 PM

just an update.

so, the cause of her hypertension is still unknown as her lifestyle is good. dr was also loss at to how to bring the pressure down since what needs to be done has already been done.

If not mistaken, it can be hereditary too so maybe she can check with her parents whether they have it or not. However nowadays you can get any sickness without any reason actually. IMHO, for the time being ask her to temporarily become vegetarian beside taking the doctor's prescription until hopefully the pressure come down and stabilise. Also people say drinking 'misai kucing' tea helps too.

fRaNkY

23-12-2008, 07:56 AM

If can bring down bp, try avoid medication else stuck with the pills whole life.

Some people prefer doing exercise, reduce salt, reduce stress and other method.

BP at 161/100 is too high irregardless of age. Your friend requires regular medical checkup. He needs to have both Cholesterol level and treadmill ECG check.

Two of the natural foods that are proven good in helping to reduce BP are Banana (contains high Potassium) and Hawthorn Berries 山楂

kwchang

24-12-2008, 01:09 AM

...try avoid medication else stuck with the pills whole life....

Agree stay away from pills if possible..
I am sorry, but I believe the Doctors in this Forum will disagree.
This is the most common response by laymen about hypertension medication.
Once a patient had developed hypertension, there is usually no way out except medication to lower the high blood pressure. This itself is an art by your GP to titrate the best control for your condition. It is not a simple matter of getting a standard prescription for life and buy it over the pharmacy's counter because the hypertensive condition is different for different individual.

You should be aware that hypertensive patients usually have other medical problems such as diabetes whcih also need to be correctly diagnosed and treated properly otherwise there will be other life-threatening conditions.

Hypertension if left unchecked can lead to end-organ failures as our vital organs such as the kidneys are not made to work in high blood pressure environments. Hence the complications of kidney failure as rightly mentioned by lbn.

I am always amazed by people going for alternative cures when the hypertension medication prescribed by your GP can be cheaper and simpler.

blurrman

24-12-2008, 03:07 AM

kwchang,

can you please read this ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DASH_diet

and this http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf

and these http://www.google.com.my/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=fiC&q=Dietary+Approaches+to+Stop+Hypertension&btnG=Search&meta=

these are not done by layman, it was recommended by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of US, all prepared by heart specialist, i believe there are doctors too...

blurrman

24-12-2008, 03:46 AM

below was my 3 months daily BP reading from Aug 2007 to Nov 2007, noticeable drop after 3 weeks after following the simple DASH diet and do regular exercise.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9012/bpchartvo9.gif

one of the reading after 3 months

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/8256/dsc00004sra8.jpg

kwchang,
many doctors (with real doctors heart) will try to recommend a patient to go through some diet and exercise programs first before giving them medication. but however some doc just give their patient medication with going through some diet and exercise program.

the result of this research although published to the public around late 90s, as of today, there are still many local docs that is not aware of it. and it is kinda sad to know some of my friends were given medication without even letting them to go through some diet and exercise programs.

CS Chua

24-12-2008, 10:46 AM

What blurrman said is true, that many doctors give out medications without trying dieting and exercise first. I was one of the patients.

I learn the power of stress when my systolic bp dropped 10 pts some years back after I resigned and took 3 months off to do some studies. Before that, I did not know that stress can be such a powerful factor. I am taking breaks more frequently now.

Weight should preferably be around BMI 25.

xaviers

24-12-2008, 11:54 AM

Another thing..stay away from the Bak Kut teh too

tmd

24-12-2008, 02:26 PM

One tablespoon soy sauce contents 1300 mg of Sodium, more than 50% of the daily allowance (2400mg) !!!!!

Sukdershan

29-12-2008, 08:10 PM

below was my 3 months daily BP reading from Aug 2007 to Nov 2007, noticeable drop after 3 weeks after following the simple DASH diet and do regular exercise.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9012/bpchartvo9.gif

one of the reading after 3 months

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/8256/dsc00004sra8.jpg

kwchang,
many doctors (with real doctors heart) will try to recommend a patient to go through some diet and exercise programs first before giving them medication. but however some doc just give their patient medication with going through some diet and exercise program.

the result of this research although published to the public around late 90s, as of today, there are still many local docs that is not aware of it. and it is kinda sad to know some of my friends were given medication without even letting them to go through some diet and exercise programs.
Try surfing here:
:D http://medicine.com.my/wp/?p=894 :D

Sukdershan

29-12-2008, 08:14 PM

BP at 161/100 is too high irregardless of age. Your friend requires regular medical checkup. He needs to have both Cholesterol level and treadmill ECG check.

Two of the natural foods that are proven good in helping to reduce BP are Banana (contains high Potassium) and Hawthorn Berries 山楂
Try this site: http://www.msh.org.my/
;)

Sukdershan

29-12-2008, 08:16 PM

just an update.

friend went to see cardiologist today. all vital organs are fine.

taking medication, to bring the pressure down. reading at booth at the mall over the weekend was correct.

so, the cause of her hypertension is still unknown as her lifestyle is good. dr was also loss at to how to bring the pressure down since what needs to be done has already been done.
Suggest you use the same BP monitor, for home monitoring, size of BP cuff is important as well.

Sukdershan

29-12-2008, 08:28 PM

my friend here doesnt eat red meat.

mainly fish and chicken.

yes, will get her to try meditation.
http://www.msh.org.my/article.php?aid=9